[gottagetoffit]

I am going through a very difficult detox process. I've been on Suboxone for about 3-4 months. During that time I relapsed for a day or two a handful of times, but quickly reassumed my suboxone replacement. Its been over a month since I've had anything other than 4-2mgs. Over the past week I've brought myself down to 2mgs. After a day or two I realized I had a major problem with energy.

Many weeks ago I was really in hell, dealing with busted heart (broke up with a girl i lived with for years) while gettin off a daily 2-3 80mg oxy habit. I was hurtin pretty bad. But for the past month I've started to feel somewhat better. I was taking 4mgs and beginning to get my head on straight. I did noticed even when I was taking 4mgs, my energy would really drop off during the second half of the day. Now that I'm on 2mg I'm feeling it even more. Its crazy, I want to do so many things but after I do my daily workout in the gym I'm practically glued to my back within a few hours. I'll get the urge to do something but If I can get myself up at all its only 10-20 seconds til I feel like I gotta just lay down again. It defeintly sucks but no where near as bad as the hell I was i months ago.

I just wanna keep the recovery ball rolling now. I still drag my butt in the gym everyday and excersize my ass off, I eat really well.. just grilled veggies, grilled chicken and salmon along with protien bars and shakes. I've limited myself to practically no sugars though, in an effort to lose every last bit of body fat. Low carb, no sugars is probably a contributer to low energy I'm guessin, but I'm pretty sure most of the problem lies in my suboxone reduction.

I have 2 questions really.. is there anything I can do to help me regain energy and most importantly, will/when I be able to function like a normal dam person again? I'm trying to be as optimistic as I can. Jesus I hope this doesnt get worse when i'm off completely and stay that way for months. I'm beginning to think I have low testosterone levels or a screwed up thyroid or something. This is no way to live :/. Any advice or encouraging words out there?

[Robert_325]

I'm really surprised you're feeling so poorly working out as much as you say. I see people have some lack of energy and we always recommend exercise obviously. That's the best medicine there is for an opiate detox.

One thing that concerns me however is that I'm understanding that you dropped from 4mg to 2mg over the last week. Is that correct? That one is easy if that's the case.

I'll watch for your reply. God bless.

[gottagetoffit]

I actually just bought some vitamins (sublingual B-12, B complex) and an energy powder mix that contains lots of amino acids. Between that and the fact that Ive stopped drinking Red Line Extreme before working out ive been feeling less of a crash. Unfortuanately I had a bad day and took a 2nd dose of 2mgs later in the day. I hope this wasnt too much of a set back as its been over a week since I've taken more than the once daily 2mgs.

So 4mg to 2mgs is easy huh. Wonderful, so I assume the real fun will begin soon. I was planning to drop down to 1mg in 4 days. I was planning to stay at that dose for 10 days, then come off completely. What do ya think about that plan my friends?

I am indeed working out like a madman everyday. I guess its really helping. Another reason why ive had energy problems is perhaps the fact that ive been dieting like a madman as well. Limiting my sugar intake to 15-20 grams of it a day. As well as my fat and calories. Lbs are dropping fast but its always an ardous battle of will to propell yself through my workouts. Maybe I've used up whatever diet-provided energy sources in the workout and I'm left with nothing when its over. But I do strongly feel its a lack of the narcotic in suboxone that was causing most of the problems. When I had that 2nd 2mg piece of suboxone yesterday, my energy picked right up and I actually felt HIGH. After a few hours I was layin down watchin TV and I felt like I was on oxy again. Its was sorta nice but I didnt appreciate the head actually. I'm all for energy but I cant bare the thought of feeling all medicated up and high like I used to with oxycontin. I dunno how I ever did it. Maybe suboxone has done its job well because I dont crave or want that feeling ever again. I sure have come a long way methinks :P

I really appreciate your response. I look forward to any other input and advice anyone might have Thank you very much.

[magsj]

Dear Gotta-

Congratulations, your getting there!!! Yeah, I'm at 3.25mg and heading south soon; I envy that you have gotten down to 2mg.

I wanted to comment regarding Robert's response "that one is easy if that's the case". I think you misunderstood what he was saying. I think he is under the impression that you dropped from 4mg directly to 2mg, not 4mg-3.50-3.0-2.5-2mg, etc. etc. which would be TAPERING from 4mg to 2mg. I think he thinks you dropped suddently from 4 to 2mg and that it might help your w/d sx if you tapered from 4mg to 2mg to 1.5mg to 1mg, etc., So, what he was saying (if I am correct) is that it might be easy to HELP you FEEL a little better with some dosage adjustment. I honestly don't think he was saying "Oh, tapering from 4mg to 2mg is easy". I hope this helps. I don't want to speak for Robert, but wanted to see if I could ease your fears a little.

I wish you all the best, I'll keep checking on your posts as I'll be where you are soon )

mags

[Robert_325]

Mags is correct about my comment concerning going from 4mg to 2mg being easy. I did in fact wonder if you had dropped the dose all at once. That's why I asked. I didn't mean it to sound like this is easy, sorry if it came out like that. A steady taper down in good.

I wouldn't push myself until I was miserable with the cutback in sugar, carbs or anything that would help the energy level while doing this. You're working out hard and you need the caloric intake as well as nutrient intake to maintain your energy as detox depletes it too. Hang in there. God bless.

[gottagetoffit]

I did actually drop from 4 to 2 overnight. It wasnt too bad I guess but it would have been miserable if I had many responsibilities. I'm thankful everyday that I live in a country that will help you out during hard times. The unemployment Ive been able to collect has really allowed me to focus on health. Based on your replys, i'm pretty convinced my dip in energy was caused by the sudden drop. When I go to 1mg, i'll steadily drop to it. But I'm finding it difficult to create accurate dosing with these 8mg pills. I've been buying em off the street and from beginning til now I think I've had 25 or so. I bought my final 5 the day I dropped to 2mgs. Now I have 3 left. I suppose I'll go work with a razor and cut up some small pieces. After that I'll arrange the pieces based on appearance of largest to smallest. That will be my taper right? I know they make 2mg pills but I just cant buy em off the street. Ive made it this far without ever spending all that money on doc vists and scripts so I'm going to continue battling this on my own. I have the thoughtful posts of my opiate alumni though and I have the gym Along with strong will, I do believe thats all I'll need.

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by gottagetoffit

I did actually drop from 4 to 2 overnight. It wasnt too bad I guess but it would have been miserable if I had many responsibilities. I'm thankful everyday that I live in a country that will help you out during hard times. The unemployment Ive been able to collect has really allowed me to focus on health. Based on your replys, i'm pretty convinced my dip in energy was caused by the sudden drop. When I go to 1mg, i'll steadily drop to it. But I'm finding it difficult to create accurate dosing with these 8mg pills. I've been buying em off the street and from beginning til now I think I've had 25 or so. I bought my final 5 the day I dropped to 2mgs. Now I have 3 left. I suppose I'll go work with a razor and cut up some small pieces. After that I'll arrange the pieces based on appearance of largest to smallest. That will be my taper right? I know they make 2mg pills but I just cant buy em off the street. Ive made it this far without ever spending all that money on doc vists and scripts so I'm going to continue battling this on my own. I have the thoughtful posts of my opiate alumni though and I have the gym Along with strong will, I do believe thats all I'll need.

You need to reduce your dose slowly. The 50% drop at once was too much and DEFINITELY played a part in how you feel. You should reduce by 25% of your daily dose every four days. Faster than that will result in symptoms like you've described. I figured this was the problem all along. That is why I asked. God bless.